Vincent Bonsignore: For LeBron James, you can go home again

In this Dec. 25, 2009 file photo, Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James reacts during the second half against the Los Angeles Lakers in an NBA basketball game in Los Angeles. The three-team trade that gave the Cavaliers salary cap space to possibly land LeBron James is official. The Cavs and Boston Celtics confirmed the deal on Thursday, July 10, 2014, when the NBA moratorium on signings ended. (AP Photo/Lori Shepler, File)

ARE YOU AN L.A. SPORTS NUT?

With three simple words, LeBron James made four years of anguish disappear.

“I’m Coming Home” he announced Friday in an essay in Sports Illustrated.

And the city of Cleveland rejoiced.

The King is retuning to the Cavaliers, the hometown team he spurned in 2010 to chase NBA championships in Miami.

But with two titles now under his belt and a legacy firmly in place, James is going back to the Cavaliers to tend to unfinished business and mend the same hearts he broke four years ago.

“When I left Cleveland, I was on a mission. I was seeking championships, and we won two. But Miami already knew that feeling,” James wrote. “Our city hasn’t had that feeling in a long, long, long time. My goal is still to win as many titles as possible, no question. But what’s most important for me is bringing one trophy back to Northeast Ohio.”

Apparently you can go home.

And in the process, forgive.

When James left Cleveland as a free agent four years ago, the city reacted with unprecedented anger and resentment for a departing sports star.

It was more than just a superstar leaving, of course. This was a hometown kid from nearby Akron, a once-in-a-generation talent locally raised and reared and who breathed magnificent life into the morbid Cavaliers, who were among the best teams in the league with James leading the way.

That Cleveland reacted as passionately as it did was somewhat understandable, albeit unjustified.

But no one acted more shameful than Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert, who penned a disgraceful letter bitterly accusing James of betrayal and then posting it on the Cavaliers website.

It’s difficult to imagine any athlete returning to a city that burned his jersey and cursed his name, or to an owner who publicly humiliated him for merely seeking a better lot in life.

But James proves time can heal most wounds, although one key hurdle in going back was the blessing of his family and friends.

Many of whom were still hurt by the reaction of Northeast Ohio and Gilbert four years ago.

“The letter from Dan Gilbert, the booing of the Cleveland fans, the jerseys being burned — seeing all that was hard for them,” James wrote. “My emotions were more mixed. It was easy to say, “OK, I don’t want to deal with these people ever again.’”

The more James thought about it, though, the more he recognized a chance to forgive.

And maybe even understand.

He grew up idolizing sports stars, too. And he imagined what his own reaction might have been had one of his heroes left for another team.

“What if I were a kid who looked up to an athlete, and that athlete made me want to do better in my own life, and then he left? How would I react?” James wrote.

Advertisement

As for Gilbert, James has already made peace.

“I’ve met with Dan, face-to-face, man-to-man. We’ve talked it out. Everybody makes mistakes. I’ve made mistakes as well. Who am I to hold a grudge?”

You can go home.

And you can forgive.

That is a lesson we can all appreciate.

James returns to a young up-and-coming team brimming with top-end talent — albeit inexperienced.

It’s a roster he played a significant role in assembling, his departure in 2010 sending the Cavaliers tumbling into four straight lotteries that led to three No. 1 overall picks.

While James was going to four straight NBA Finals and winning two championship rings, the Cavaliers struggled mightily.

It was a poignant reminder just how talented and dominant James was, his last few years in Cleveland resulting in 60-plus wins, multiple trips to the playoffs and Eastern Conference finals.

The moment he left, the Cavaliers fell apart.

The Heat, on the other hand, ascended to the top of the NBA while winning back-to-back titles in 2012 and 2013.

That is the power of James.

Meanwhile, the city of Cleveland was angry, bitter and devastated, first with its homegrown star turning his back on it and then watching him flourish in South Beach.

On some level, Cleveland’s pain had an affect on him.

And it drove him back — not just to make amends.

But to make an impact on a city and region that runs in his blood.

“My presence can make a difference in Miami, but I think it can mean more where I’m from,” James wrote. “I want kids in Northeast Ohio, like the hundreds of Akron third-graders I sponsor through my foundation, to realize that there’s no better place to grow up. Maybe some of them will come home after college and start a family or open a business. That would make me smile. Our community, which has struggled so much, needs all the talent it can get.”

That he returns just four years after leaving is a remarkable turn of events for a tortured city that hasn’t witnessed a championship since 1964.

With James back in the fold, the Cavaliers instantly become one of the most feared teams in the league — although James preaches patience.

“I’m not promising a championship. I know how hard that is to deliver,” he wrote. “We’re not ready right now. No way. Of course, I want to win next year, but I’m realistic. It will be a long process, much longer than it was in 2010. My patience will get tested. I know that. I’m going into a situation with a young team and a new coach. I will be the old head.

“But I get a thrill out of bringing a group together and helping them reach a place they didn’t know they could go. I see myself as a mentor now and I’m excited to lead some of these talented young guys. I think I can help Kyrie Irving become one of the best point guards in our league. I think I can help elevate Tristan Thompson and Dion Waiters. And I can’t wait to reunite with Anderson Varejao, one of my favorite teammates.”

But he is likely short-changing himself and the young talent he is joining.

The Cavaliers will be one of the best teams in the NBA, bank it.

And now you can expect a number of dominoes to fall around the league as free agents and teams scramble to get back to business.

Most of the NBA was waiting James out, some teams saving salary cap space on the chance he would join them and some players hoping to finagle a way to play with him where ever he ended up.

But with James now in place in Cleveland, expect a flurry of activity to ensue.

And the Lakers figure prominently in the next wave.

Their chances of landing free agent forward Carmelo Anthony are seemingly dwindling. Anthony has reportedly narrowed his choices to the Chicago Bulls and New York Knicks, which would push the Lakers to Plan B.

Step one was closing a deal with the Houston Rockets for point guard Jeremy Lin, which would fit their objective of a young player with an expiring contract.

They could also turn their attention to Indiana’s Lance Stephenson.

The key, though, is the biggest domino has fallen.

Everything was on hold until James came to a decision.

He made up his mind on Friday

Four years after breaking the hearts of his hometown, he is going home.